Climate related subsidence threat to London

Zack Polanski: In May 2021, the British Geological Survey (BGS) launched maps that assessed the risk of climate related subsidence to homes and properties in the next 50 years. This research found that as many as 57 per cent of properties in London will be affected by 2070. What actions are you taking to consider this risk to Londoners and prepare strategies to mitigate the risks?

The Mayor: I welcome the new data, both the British Geological Survey (BGS) and the Climate Change Committee’s Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risks, published last week, as they provide evidence that can help inform and shape policy and programmes.
The new BGS maps further highlight the impacts we can expect with climate change. However, the maps and the projected impacts are based on a ‘worst case’ planning scenario which assumes no climate action to 2070. My climate mitigation programmes, which have won awards including WWF’s One Planet City Challenge, are leading the way at a global level and I am working to ensure we avoid the worst case scenario.
But, we still need to adapt to expected impacts of climate change. Working with key partners such as the London Climate Change Partnership, my London Infrastructure Group and Water Advisory Group, as well as the housing and infrastructure sectors, I am reviewing new climate risk data as it emerges to identify strategies, develop policies and lobby for new regulations if required, to manage the risk.

TfL Travel Mentoring Service (5)

Elly Baker: How many passengers have been supported a) with advice and b) with a mentor accompanying them on a journey, by the Travel Mentoring Service in every year from 2015/16 to date? Please provide numbers for each financial year and for 2021/22 to date.

The Mayor: Please find attached a table listing instances of assistance provided by the travel mentoring team. Enquiries and referrals may lead to assisted trips but can also be requests for advice dealt with over the telephone or via video link. Bus days are events hosted at bus garages, which are attended by many people together, using mobility aids, who would like assistance to use the bus network independently.

The Mayor: 4622 - TfL Travel Mentoring Service (5) ATTACHMENT.xlsx

London’s NHS Workforce and Six Key Tests

Onkar Sahota: With London’s healthcare system struggling across the board with high vacancy rates, would you consider adding a new ‘workforce strength’ category to the ‘six key tests’ that you expect to be met before giving your support to any major health and care transformation or service reconfiguration proposals in the capital?

The Mayor: I am aware of the significant workforce pressures the NHS in London is facing; this was discussed at the London Health Board meeting on 16 November. I am reluctant to add additional tests to my six tests which are well understood and used across the NHS in London. I will nonetheless be refreshing the health inequalities test in the coming months to place a greater emphasis on the role of major NHS organisations as anchor institutions in their local communities, including as employers of local people.
I will continue to champion, challenge and collaborate with London’s senior NHS leaders to reduce vacancy rates, promote NHS careers and improve retention of existing staff. This includes hosting access to the CapitalNurse programme on the GLA website, funding a health skills hub as part of my new Academies Programme, and backing frontline health workers and others to get priority for new intermediate homes.

Compensation for all London Bus Drivers who died from Covid-19

Keith Prince: Will you fight for compensation for bus drivers who died from Covid-19 to be on the same level as that for NHS workers and other front-line personnel in occupations in which employees had excess mortality from the disease?

The Mayor: I welcomed the Government’s NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme, launched in 2020 for frontline health and care workers during the coronavirus pandemic. I have already written to the Transport Secretary on 27 January 2021, seeking a commitment from him to ensure that equivalent support is made available to the families of frontline transport workers working in the pandemic who lose their lives due to COVID-19.
Unfortunately the Government has so far signalled its unwillingness to extend the scheme to frontline transport workers. The Transport Secretary responded on 8 February 2021 to say that payments in respect of transport workers who die from COVID-19, or for any other reason, vary depending on the terms of the death in service benefits their employer has in place, with specific arrangements varying across modes and employers. He has indicated in his response that the Government will continue to review the support it provides to key workers and I hope that he will again consider the need to include frontline transport workers. I continue to urge him to include them in the Government’s scheme.
Were the Government still to come forward with similar, appropriate proposals for the heroic transport workers who tragically lost their lives as a result of COVID-19, these would absolutely have my full support.

Flooding duty

Anne Clarke: England is now the only part of the UK where firefighters are not given a statutory duty to respond to flooding incidents. Do you believe that England should be brought into line with the rest of the UK and that the Government should provide extra funding for what would be a new duty for LFB?

The Mayor: Section 9of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 gives the Secretary of State the power to give Fire & Rescue Authorities (FRAs) functions relating to other emergencies and it is under this section that most FRAs make provision to respond to the foreseeable threat to life that flooding and water related hazards may pose.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) is working closely with National Fire Chiefs Council and the Home Office to explore the next generation of the government’s New Dimensions programme capability and equipment to meet the UK’s changing risk, recognising that climate change and flooding is a growing concern. The Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience and I have regular conversations with LFB on their preparedness for flooding incidents and will continue to do so.

Face Coverings on National Rail

Krupesh Hirani: What discussions have taken place with national rail operators in London who have chosen not to implement mandatory mask wearing?

The Mayor: On 30 November, the Government reintroduced the requirement to wear face coverings on public transport.
Following the Government’s previous announcement that face coverings would no longer be mandatory on public transport from 19 July 2021, I asked Transport for London (TfL) to keep the requirement for customers to wear these as a condition of carriage on all TfL services and stations. Although I asked the Government at the time to reintroduce national regulations, this request was declined. I am pleased that the Government has since changed its position. While my position on the use of face coverings on public transport has not changed, I have no powers over the decisions made by individual Train Operating Companies operating within in London in the absence of national regulations. TfL officers regularly liaise with the Rail Delivery Group and Department for Transport to ensure that all are clear about TfL’s position on face coverings.

Independent Statistical Analysis of Bus Driver Deaths from Covid-19 (1)

Keith Prince: Will you commission an independent statistical analysis to establish the extent to which TfL bus drivers suffered excess Covid-19 mortality throughout the whole pandemic, compared with expected mortality based on age, ethnicity, home location and occupation?

The Mayor: I am devastated by the tragic deaths of all those transport workers in London who have lost their lives to Covid-19, and my thoughts remain with their families, friends and colleagues.
Transport for London (TfL) promptly commissioned independent research by UCL’s Institute of Health Equity into the deaths of London bus drivers as a result of COVID-19 and the safeguards introduced, in order to identify evidence-based recommendations on what more could be done.
This identified that, for the period March to May 2020, when mortality ratios were considered in terms of London regional data and other known risk factors for COVID-19 such as age and ethnicity, London bus drivers were identified to be two times more likely to die than average. After May 2020, the number of drivers who died formed a smaller proportion of the deaths in London. Although this period was not the specific focus of the study, the authors noted that for infections contracted between mid-May and the end of December 2020, deaths of London bus drivers as a proportion of those in the regions where they lived, had decreased by 45 per cent.
With regards to independent statistical analysis, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has analysed deaths involving COVID-19 by different occupational groups among men and women aged 20 to 64 years in England and Wales. This information can be found online at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/bulletins/coronaviruscovid19relateddeathsbyoccupationenglandandwales/latest. It shows that, for deaths between March and May 2020, male bus and coach drivers aged between 20 and 64 had the 16th highest male mortality rate by occupation whereas between May to December this was 25th.
I do not believe further statistical analysis of the type proposed would enhance our understanding of the impact of the pandemic as the results that I’ve referred to above fundamentally cover the same ground.

City Hall Move Savings

Susan Hall: Please will you provide a breakdown of the £61m in savings you expect to be achieved over the next five years as a result of the move from City Hall? Please include a breakdown of yearly savings for the next five years.

The Mayor: Set out in the table attached is a breakdown of the Group-wide savings expected to be achieved over the next five years as a result of the move from City Hall. The City Hall savings calculated for the next 5 years are based on the 2022-23 budgeted figures. More detailed work is required to refine the actual FM budget once all contracts are let and the new arrangements finalised which may impact the forecasted £61m saving.
With the exception of City Hall and Union Street rent, which are fixed, all other costs will be subject to annual inflation increases. This is largely outside the control of the GLA and would be incurred regardless of the relocation.

The Mayor: 2021 - 4950  .pdf

Withdrawn Transport for London ‘See their side’ advertisement (2)

Siân Berry: The now withdrawn Transport for London (TfL) ‘See their side’ campaign advertisement clearly suggested all road users are equally responsible for road danger. Will you review your approach in collaboration with walking and cycling campaigners so that TfL advertising focuses on challenging the behaviour and attitudes of the sources of the greatest road danger?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) already has a number of campaigns that target the key sources of road danger. These include the ‘Watch Your Speed’ campaign aimed at encouraging car drivers to drive at an appropriate speed and a campaign targeting drivers and power two-wheeler riders, to each look out for each other before turning.
The intent of the ‘See their side’ advert was to create understanding and empathy amongst road users, and to show that all road users are human beings and have a part to play in making London’s roads safer. Research supports the need to tackle both the visible problem behaviours on our roads and the underlying culture that perpetuates these behaviours. Following a review of the feedback received, TfL took the decision to remove the TV advert and are reviewing the most appropriate approach to addressing the culture of road danger.
TfL already consults with stakeholders across London on its Vision Zero work, primarily via the Vision Zero Reference Group, and since pausing the television advert, it is continuing to review feedback from stakeholders, including cycling campaigners, to understand where improvements can be made. TfL is committed to addressing the attitudes and culture that exists on London’s roads and is reviewing its approach.

Withdrawn Transport for London ‘See their side’ campaign advertisement (3)

Siân Berry: The now withdrawn Transport for London (TfL) ‘See their side’ campaign advertisement clearly suggested all road users are equally responsible for road danger. Your press release on 15 November 2021 said: “TfL is launching a new communications campaign to challenge a deep-rooted culture in which some Londoners still believe that death and serious injury on our streets is inevitable.” Was this the ‘See their side’ campaign?

The Mayor: Yes, the ‘See their side’ campaign was part of a campaign aimed to address the deep-rooted culture on London’s roads. The TV advert launched on 17 November 2021.
The intent of the ‘See their side’ campaign is not to suggest equal responsibility for road danger. Transport for London (TfL) already has a number of campaigns that target the key sources of road danger, including the’ Watch Your Speed’ campaign aimed at encouraging car drivers to drive at an appropriate speed, and a campaign targeting drivers and power two-wheeler riders to look out for each other before turning.
The intent of the ‘See their side’ advert was to create understanding and empathy amongst road users and show all road users are human beings and have a part to play in making London’s roads safer. Research supports the need to tackle both the visible problem behaviours on our roads and the underlying culture that perpetuates these behaviours.
Following a review of the feedback received, TfL took the decision to remove the TV advert and are reviewing the most appropriate approach to addressing the culture of road danger.

High Rise Planning Applications and Fire Safety

Hina Bokhari: How many new-build high rise building planning applications have failed on fire safety over the last five years? Please break this information down by i) borough and ii) year.

The Mayor: London Plan Policy D12 requires applications for major developments to be accompanied by a Fire Statement to ensure the highest standards of fire safety and as a minimum that the development can comply with the Building Regulations. Whilst the London Plan suggests that planning departments can refer Fire Statements to fire and rescue services, they are not statutory consultees under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is asked by planning departments, designers, engineers and others for fire safety advice, usually for matters relating to access for firefighters and water supplies. However, compliance with the Building Regulations is ultimately determined by Building Control officers or Approved Inspectors. I have been lobbying the Government for improved fire safety standards and compliance regime as the Building Regulations and certification process are not fit for purpose.
Until March 2021 planning advice requests were not recorded by LFB as a specific category. For the period in question over 17,000 general requests for advice were received, which includes planning advice requests.

Carbon savings from new housing standards

Siân Berry: Your press release of 9 November 2021 said that your environmental and energy standards for new affordable homes will enable a total carbon saving equating to more than 17,000 return flights between London and New York. This does not include the amount of embodied carbon that was contained in any buildings that will be demolished to make way for these new homes. Could you update this analysis to include embodied carbon and publish the figures?

The Mayor: The Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) 2021-2026 provides very limited funding for estate regeneration replacement homes. The programme will only fund replacement homes in cases where the homes that have been demolished are obsolete. My London Plan and my Estate Regeneration Good Practice Guide also require developers to explore alternative options to refurbishing homes before proposing demolition. These policies reflect my commitment to encouraging GLA partners to explore alternatives to demolition, including when in receipt of GLA funding.
The analysis published on 9 November is based on current GLA Whole Life Cycle (WLC) monitoring data and this dataset captures operational emissions and does not account for embodied carbon. As such, this analysis is unable to be updated. My WLC policy was adopted in early-2021 and in the future my team intends to widen the scope of monitoring reports to include embodied carbon.

A healthy start to life

Caroline Russell: What are your top priorities in 2022 for helping to ensure that every child born in London has the best chance of a healthy start to life?

The Mayor: I will continue to support early years settings, including through my Healthy Early Years London programme which has now reached over 2,000 settings across all London boroughs, my London Early Years Campaign and my three Early Years Hubs.
Poor air quality stunts the growth of children's lungs and worsens chronic illness so improvements to air quality around nurseries and schools will remain a priority, including through my London Schools Pollution Helpdesk, and measures such as School Streets, active travel and engine idling campaigns.

School Superzones

Caroline Russell: How many School Superzones will you launch this year to improve the health of school children in London and how many will you launch next year?

The Mayor: I committed in my 2021 manifesto to deliver an expanded role for School Superzones across London. The expansion of the programme will deliver up to 50 School Superzones by 2025 and will form a key plank of the Healthy Place Healthy Weight recovery mission. It will also contribute to the commitment of the London Child Obesity Taskforce to halve the percentage of London’s children who are overweight at the start of primary school and obese at the end of primary school and to reduce London’s social gradient in childhood obesity rates.
The initial phase of the programme will focus on the 13 pilot boroughs to help reinvigorate and support the Superzones established in 2018/19. We expect this work to start by the end of March 2022. Following that, support will be opened up to all London boroughs to develop new Superzones whilst prioritising areas with the highest levels of deprivation.

Eating Disorders Monitoring

Nicholas Rogers: What are you doing to monitor the number of diagnoses of eating disorders in London through your health inequalities work? Please provide the number of diagnoses of eating disorders in London for each year since 2016.

The Mayor: Services and support for people with different mental health conditions such as Eating Disorders are provided by the NHS and health and care partners including the voluntary and community sector.
The NHS hold a national eating disorder dashboard on the NHS Future platform looking at inequalities across levels of deprivation, age, gender and ethnicity.This is available for each ICS in London to inform service development plans locally, however there is currently no definitive data that shows the precise number of eating disorder diagnoses.
I endorse the partnership developed between Healthy London Partnership, Beat and children and young people’s mental health Inpatient Provider Collaboratives in response to recent trends. As part of this work, eating disorder guidelines for primary care professionals were updated and then endorsed to professionals across London by my health advisor Dr Tom Coffey.

Eating Disorders Actions and Funding

Nicholas Rogers: What work are you undertaking to help tackle eating disorders across London and what funding, if any, have you allocated for each year since 2016?

The Mayor: Services and support for people with different mental health conditions such asEating Disordersare provided by the NHS and health and care partners including the voluntary and community sector.
Across London, work is being undertaken to maintain the 95% waiting time standard for both urgent and routine eating disorders cases. This is to ensure there is sufficient service capacity to support the increased demand and rising acuity of eating disorders cases particularly following the impact of the pandemic.
Eating disorder guidelines for professionals across London, raising awareness of the signs of eating disorders, and how to support children and young people across different settings have been endorsed by my health advisor Dr Tom Coffey.
This year I invested £70,000 in expanding Good Thinking’s digital mental health support offer to young Londoners. This includes information, advice and support for young people, parents and carers affected by an eating disorder.

Lack of Evidence to justify TfL’s Failure to honour RAIB’s Request for IA 16767

Neil Garratt: You might appreciate the ex post facto rationalisation you provided in your response to Question 2021/3904, only further confirms the suspicion that TfL, in my view, intentionally obstructed the RAIB Investigation. Accordingly, might people reasonably conclude that TfL has no documentary evidence from the period November 2016-February 2017 to underpin the explanation you provided in Question 2021/3726?

The Mayor: I refer you to my numerous previous responses to Mayor’s Questionsregarding IA 16 767. Transport for London (TfL) co-operated fully with all of the investigations that have taken place. TfL provided RAIB with all documents and information requested. The RAIB were informed of the uncompleted audit in November 2016 shortly after the Sandilands tragedy and were twice sent a copy of the letter of engagement.
My answer to Mayor’s Question 2021/3904 is not an ex post facto rationalisation, it is the basis for TfL’s understanding as set out in my answer to Mayor’s Question 2021/3726.
A review of the email accounts of those TfL staff who were the points of contact with the RAIB, which was arranged for the purpose of supporting the RAIB investigation, has not identified any emails in the period November 2016 -February 2017 from the RAIB requesting further details regarding the audit other than the email of 24 January 2017 to which a response was given.

Thrive LDN Online Suicide Prevention Training

Onkar Sahota: How many Londoners have taken Thrive LDN and Zero Suicide Alliance’s Online Suicide Prevention Training to date?

The Mayor: I am proud that more than 270,000 Londoners, myself included, have accessed the Zero Suicide Alliance’s suicide prevention training through Thrive LDN’s #ZeroSuicideLDN campaign. I urge all Londoners to consider doing so.
The Thrive LDN Suicide Prevention Group remain innovative in their approach to suicide prevention in London. Their initiatives include the groundbreaking Real Time Surveillance System, suicide bereavement support and a new resource to support people who witness suicide. The pandemic has introduced and exacerbated numerous risk factors around suicide, not least through social isolation, financial uncertainty and traumatic, sudden bereavement. Our energies must continue to be focused on our shared aspiration to end stigma and make London a zero suicide city.
I’m determined to make London a healthier, fairer city, and will continue to work with partners to ensure the mental health of Londoners remains a priority now and in the future.

Social Prescribing

Onkar Sahota: What progress have you made so far in your aim to help ensure every Londoner has access to a social prescription by 2028?

The Mayor: Since Social Prescribing was mainstreamed by the NHS, there are now over 300 NHS funded link workers in London, based in both NHS and voluntary and community sector (VCS) settings. The NHS plan to further expand to have 3-4 in every Primary Care Network by 2023/24. Their estimate is that 99.5% of PCNs in London have a link worker in post.
My Health Team continue to work closely with Healthy London Partnership, NHS England, regional facilitators and the Voluntary and Community Sector to further improve London’s social prescribing offer, as well as with other teams in the GLA – such as Culture and Skills. My priority is for social prescribing to reach those Londoners who could most benefit from it. The experience of the pandemic and likely increase in health inequalities has only made this more important.

Healthy Workplace Award

Onkar Sahota: Since March 2021, when the latest version of the award was announced, how many small businesses, corporations and public sector organisations have been accredited under the Healthy Workplace Award? Can this figure be broken down by borough?

The Mayor: Find a breakdown of by each borough:
Borough
SME’s
Public Sector
Total
Brent
1
0
1
Ealing
1
1
1
Hounslow
0
1
1
Islington
0
0
1
Lambeth
0
0
1
Richmond
1
0
1
Southwark
2
1
3
Tower Hamlets
0
1
1
Wandsworth
1
0
1
Westminster
2
2
4
Totals
8
6
15
In addition, a number of organisations will be submitting their award applications before the Mayor’s offer on employee wellbeing transitions to the Good Work Standard on the 31st December 2021.

Women’s Safety

Leonie Cooper: Constituents have asked for an update on what the police are doing to help women and girls in Merton feel safe.

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) within the South West Basic Command Unit (which includes Merton) has been working to increase visible police patrols in open spaces and within areas of high night-time economy. Extra officers from the Violence Suppression Unit, Predatory Offender Unit and Neighbourhood Policing teams, in uniform and plain clothes, have been deployed under Operation Harbour in Wimbledon Town Centre on Friday and Saturday nights. They are also working alongside partners to support the Ask for Angela campaign, engaging with pub watch meetings, Operation Makesafe visits at hotels where there is risk of Child Sexual exploitation, and working closely with local authority violence against women and girls teams. The Metropolitan Police recently launched a consultation on their Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan, which can be found here.

Waking Watches and London’s Boroughs

Anne Clarke: Please provide a borough-by-borough breakdown of the number of buildings operating waking watches in London. Please also breakdown the numbers for buildings over 18m and under 18m in each borough.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of ‘stay put’ where a interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place. This includes, but is not limited to, waking watches, which the National Fire Chiefs Council guidance defines as a system where ‘suitably trained persons continually patrol all floors and the exterior perimeter of the building in order to detect a fire, raise the alarm, and carry out the role of evacuation management’.Residential buildings with an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy in place could have personnel on site or a remote monitoring system, but this is determined by the Responsible Person with guidancefroma competent fire safety professional.
The figures can changeon a daily basiswhen interim measures are required, or a building is remediated and no longer requires the interim measures. The number of buildings where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, asof15 December 2021, are presented by borough and by height in the table below.
Local Authority
Total blocks
Over 18 metres
Under 18 metres
Barking and Dagenham
22
15
7
Barnet
19
14
5
Bexley
3
3
0
Brent
52
35
17
Bromley
3
2
1
Camden
38
32
6
City of London
7
7
0
Croydon
43
25
18
Ealing
20
13
7
Enfield
4
2
2
Greenwich
75
65
10
Hackney
99
77
22
Hammersmith and Fulham
15
13
2
Haringey
16
10
6
Harrow
4
3
1
Havering
8
8
0
Hillingdon
16
9
7
Hounslow
24
18
6
Islington
59
34
25
Kensington and Chelsea
27
16
11
Kingston upon Thames
4
4
0
Lambeth
63
45
18
Lewisham
60
40
20
Merton
29
3
26
Newham
69
65
4
Redbridge
13
11
2
Richmond
1
1
0
Southwark
77
55
22
Sutton
6
6
0
Tower Hamlets
173
159
14
Waltham Forest
20
20
0
Wandsworth
33
29
4
Westminster
40
38
2
Total
1142
877
265

Donations to GLA Functional Bodies from the Freemasons

Caroline Pidgeon: Are you comfortable with GLA functional bodies accepting large donations from the Freemasons?

The Mayor: Yes. Accepting donations of funding for equipment from charitable organisations is not unusual for the emergency services. The donation that London Fire Brigade (LFB) received from the London Freemasons as referenced in MQ2021/4393 follows similar support offered by the organisation to other emergency services in the capital including the London Air Ambulance and London Ambulance Service.
The safety of Londoners is my priority and if LFB is offered any significant donation that can be used towards equipment which could help further protect Londoners and save lives, it would be irresponsible of them not to consider it.

Women’s Safety

Leonie Cooper: Constituents have asked for an update on what the police are doing to help women and girls in Wandsworth feel safe.

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) within the South West Basic Command Unit (which includes Wandsworth) has increased visible police patrols in open spaces and within areas of high night-time economy. Extra officers from the Violence Suppression Unit, Predatory Offender Unit and Neighbourhood Policing teams, in uniform and plain clothes have been deployed under Operation Harbour in Wandsworth Town Centre and Clapham Junction on Friday and Saturday nights. They are also working alongside key partners to support the Ask for Angela campaign, engaging with pub watch meetings, Operation Makesafe visits at hotels where there is risk of Child Sexual exploitation, and working closely with local authority violence against women and girls teams. The Metropolitan Police recently launched a consultation on their Violence Against Women and Girls Action Plan, which can be found here.

Details on 23 People Seriously Injured in Bus or Coach Safety Incidents during the period 01 April 2021 to 26 June 2021

Keith Prince: Please provide me with a spreadsheet showing the following information about the 23 people Killed or Seriously Injured in Bus and Coach Safety Incidents between 01 April 2021 and 26 June 2021:

Date of incident
Name of bus or coach company involved
Garage of bus or coach company involved in incident
Location of incident (borough)
Severity of incident (fatality or serious injury)
Cause of injury (collision, slip trip fall)
Victim’s mode of travel (pedestrian, passenger, third party vehicle)
Victim’s sex
Victim’s age
Description of incident

The Mayor: Please find attached a copy of the current data available in the requested format.
Please note that this spreadsheet contains details of the current known number of bus customers killed or seriously injured in Q1 of the financial year (1 April - 26 June 2021). This can include information that has been retrospectively updated by the operator resulting in an increase or decrease in incidents that have been previously reported. This data set excludes those killed or seriously injured in medical incidents, deliberate acts of self-harm and in incidents of customer-on-customer assault.
Transport for London (TfL) publicly releases detailed data about incidents involving a bus in which someone is injured every quarter, via the bus safety dashboard which can be found on the Bus safety data page of TfL’s website. This includes information on the bus operator, route, location, date and type of each incident, as well as the gender, age and mode (e.g. pedestrian, passenger) of the injured person. TfL will be making further updates to this publication to include the injury severity (i.e. minor, serious or fatal) in line with its other reporting outputs.
The bus safety dashboard is built using Power BI, an analysis tool which allows users to examine data in an easy and intuitive way, without reliance on costly software. The Power BI ‘publish to web’ function does not enable users to export data. To enable further data analysis, TfL is able to provide London Assembly members with the ability to export the data. If you would like to arrange this, please get in touch with your Government Relations Advisor at TfL.

The Mayor: 4896 attachment.xlsx

Healthy Early Years London

Onkar Sahota: How many early years settings have received a Healthy Early Years London award? Can this be broken down by the four levels of accreditation and by borough?

The Mayor: Find a breakdown by each borough:
Borough
First Steps
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Barking and Dagenham
45
13
0
0
Barnet
89
38
11
0
Bexley
11
0
0
0
Brent
2
0
0
0
Bromley
171
41
12
0
Camden
20
13
0
0
City of London
7
4
0
0
Croydon
57
9
0
0
Ealing
25
5
0
0
Enfield
43
14
5
0
Greenwich
54
36
31
0
Hackney
33
17
10
0
Hammersmith and Fulham
44
5
2
0
Haringey
37
14
4
0
Harrow
48
14
8
1
Havering
66
18
8
7
Hillingdon
17
4
2
0
Hounslow
30
10
3
0
Islington
75
38
30
7
Kensington and Chelsea
55
11
3
0
Kingston-upon-Thames
43
7
0
0
Lambeth
27
7
0
0
Lewisham
76
14
4
2
Merton
53
8
1
0
Newham
14
0
0
0
Redbridge
24
11
9
2
Richmond-upon-Thames
54
6
0
0
Southwark
35
2
0
0
Sutton
50
7
1
0
Tower Hamlets
75
9
0
0
Waltham Forest
36
12
1
0
Wandsworth
44
5
1
0
Westminster
70
17
1
0
TOTAL
1530
409
147
19

Details on 23 People Seriously Injured in Bus or Coach Safety Incidents during the period 27 June 2021 to 18 September 2021

Keith Prince: Please provide me with a spreadsheet showing the following information about the 21 people Killed or Seriously Injured in bus and coach safety incidents between 27 June 2021 and 18 September 2021:

Date of incident
Name of bus or coach company involved
Garage of bus or coach company involved in incident
Location of incident (borough)
Severity of incident (fatality or serious injury)
Cause of injury (collision, slip trip fall)
Victim’s mode of travel (pedestrian, passenger, third party vehicle)
Victim’s sex
Victim’s age
Description of incident

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) will provide you with a spreadsheet of the information you have requested when this data is publicly available on its website.
TfL publicly releases detailed data about people injured in incidents involving a bus every quarter. The next release, covering the period July to September 2021 is due to be released in December 2021. The data will be released via the bus safety dashboard which can be found on the Bus safety data page of the TfL website. TfL will be making further updates to this publication to include the injury severity (i.e. minor, serious or fatal) in line with its other reporting outputs.
As stated in my response to Mayor’s Question 2021/4896, the bus safety dashboard is built using Power BI, an analysis tool which allows users to examine data in an easy and intuitive way, without reliance on costly software. The Power BI ‘publish to web’ function does not enable users to export data. To enable further data analysis, TfL is able to provide London Assembly members with the ability to export the data. If you would like to arrange this, please get in touch with your Government Relations Advisor at TfL.

Tailored Mental Health Support

Emma Best: Which mental health conditions are you providing specific and tailored support for through any mayoral programmes or work with external partners? Please also specify what funding if any, has been allocated to this.

The Mayor: As outlined in my Health Inequalities Strategy, while I am not responsible for healthcare services I work closely with health and care sector partners so that all Londoners can share in a city with the best mental health in the world.
There are many types of support for people with different mental health conditions, most of which are provided by the NHS and health and care partners including the voluntary and community sector. Integrated Care Systems provide a community mental health service offer.
Mayoral programmes complement this offer. My Thriving Through Culture partnership with the Baring Foundation (£125,000) supports children and young people who are experiencing symptoms such as depression, anxiety and PTSD through cultural social prescribing and creative health activities.
Londoners can access free resources and NHS approved apps to support their mental wellbeing through Good Thinking; London’s digital wellbeing service. I recently invested in an expansion of the service for young Londoners.

Complex Mental Health Needs

Emma Best: What action are you taking through any mayoral initiatives and work with external partners to support Londoners with complex mental health needs such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Please specify what funding if any, has been allocated to this.

The Mayor: As outlined in my Health Inequalities Strategy, while I am not responsible for healthcare services I work closely with health and care sector partners so that all Londoners can share in a city with the best mental health in the world.
There are many types of support for those with complex mental health needs, most of which are provided by the NHS, Local Authorities and health and care partners including voluntary organisations. Londoners with complex mental health needs are supported through their Integrated Care Systems’ community and inpatient mental health service offer.
Londoners can access free resources and NHS approved apps to support their mental wellbeing through Good Thinking; London’s digital wellbeing service. I recently invested in an expansion of the service for young Londoners.
I support Thrive LDN who have established strong relationships with organisations that work closely with Londoners with complex mental illnesses, including London’s NHS Mental Health Trusts.

Fire Risks Posed by E-Scooters on London’s Public Transport

Hina Bokhari: On 1 November 2021 there was a serious incident in which an e-scooter battery caught fire on a Tube train and continued to burn on the platform at Parsons Green Tube Station. Can you confirm a full investigation into this is taking place by TfL, including consideration of whether it is safe to allow e-scooters to be carried on public transport at all?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) undertook a full investigation into the incident at Parson’s Green and TfL has also discussed the risk associated with lithium ion powered e-scooters with the London Fire Brigade.
As a result, from 13 December 2021, all privately-owned e-scooters and e-unicycles, including those that can be folded or carried, are banned on London's transport network. Customers in possession of such devices will not be permitted to enter any premises on TfL's network or travel on any of its services, including on the Tube, buses, Overground, TfL Rail, Trams and DLR.

Tackling Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Stigma

Emma Best: What are you doing to tackle the stigma around Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in London?

The Mayor: It is vital that stigma and discrimination do not hold people back from seeking help and support. In my Health Inequalities Strategy I committed to making London a place where no one experiences stigma because of their mental health. This includes those with mental health conditions like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Working through Thrive LDN, I am seeking to improve understanding of how discrimination affects the mental health and wellbeing of London’s diverse population.
Understanding the barriers people face to speaking about mental health and
how these can be overcome is core to Thrive LDN. We want to encourage more Londoners to talk openly about mental health, and together we will continue to campaign to reduce the stigma and discrimination linked to mental health conditions.
By speaking openly about my own mental health, I hope to encourage others to challenge mental health stigma and remind Londoners that they are never alone.

2020 Thrive LDN Campaign

Emma Best: Campaigns have been published on Thrive LDN’s website for 2017, 2018 and 2019. When will 2020 be published?

The Mayor: Since March 2020, Thrive LDN has been coordinating London’s public mental health response to the pandemic.
This has marked a change from an annual citywide campaign to the delivery of several projects, as part of a programme of activities focused on supporting Londoners’ wellbeing as the pandemic evolved. For example, the Thrive Together and Right to Thrive programmes of work have engaged with 200 different community groups and organisations and listened to the voices of over 10,000 Londoners to understand more about the experiences of disproportionately at-risk groups. Meanwhile, under the remit of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery mission, Thrive LDN have delivered campaigns on bereavement and protective factors for good wellbeing.
The work from these and other Thrive LDN initiatives and campaigns have been published and are available on the Thrive LDN website.
An evaluation of this year’s work and successes will be published in spring 2022.

Thrive LDN Successes

Emma Best: Please outline the tangible successes of Thrive LDN in the last year.

The Mayor: Thrive LDN’s partnership-driven approach is helping us make ever bigger strides in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of Londoners.
In their role leading London’s public mental health response to the pandemic, and as the delivery partner for the Mental Health and Wellbeing recovery mission, Thrive LDN have led or collaborated on projects, events and activities that have directly engaged hundreds of thousands of Londoners.
Highlights include: more than 270,000 Londoners completing free suicide prevention training as part of the #ZeroSuicideLDN campaign; distributing 225,000 wellbeing cards to those less digitally enabled or struggling with personal debt; awarding over £270,000 to community projects for disproportionately at-risk groups; co-developing London’s World Mental Health Day Festival with young Londoners as part of Thriving Through Culture and working in partnership to produce wellbeing guidance in 36 languages to support migrant communities.
An evaluation of this year’s work and successes will be published in spring 2022.

London Fire Brigade (3)

Susan Hall: Six LFB staff have been on Union duties full time in 2020/2021. Do you agree that this is excessive during a time of national crisis?

The Mayor: No. The pandemic has increased the requirement for trade union engagement, especially on the operational side,as a result of revisedworking practices to ensure safety, and the support provided by London Fire Brigade (LFB) to the London Ambulance Service.These staff have, therefore, carried out highly important roles in relation to staff safety and wellbeing.
Of the six LFB staff who are trade union secondees, there are five full-time employeeson secondment to the Fire Brigades Union(FBU), with the FBU funding two of these roles. A further staff member is part-time employee on secondment to the GMB Union for 50 per cent of their working hours. In total LFB, therefore, pays for 3.5 trade union secondments.

LFB Comments on Planning Applications

Hina Bokhari: How many planning applications has the LFB commented on and deemed unsafe based on fire safety concerns over the last five years? Please break this down by i) borough and ii) year.

The Mayor: Fire and rescue services are not statutory consultees under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. However, London Fire Brigade (LFB)is askedby planning departments, designers, engineers and others for fire safety advice, usually for matters relating to access for firefighters and water supplies. These requests can be speculative enquires for buildings that are then not built. Consequently, there isn’t a pass or fail criteria on safety grounds.
Until March 2021 planning advice requests were not recorded by LFB as a specific category. For the period in question over 17,000 general requests for advice were received, which includes planning advice requests.

London Fire Brigade (1)

Susan Hall: Because of the emerging information from the Grenfell Inquiry Phase 2, are you confident that the LFB training attendance figures are accurate?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is confident that their figures are accurate. The Brigade’s Training and Professional Development Department is undertaking a significant programme of work to improve and develop all elements of learning. This includes working towards a reduction in the levels of “Did Not Attend” figures for training courses and improving LFB’s IT systems to link Station Diary, Big Learning (a Learning Management System) and any potential future system that LFB may consider is required.

Offensive weapons on the transport network

Caroline Russell: How many offensive weapons were found on the Transport for London (TfL) network, including bus, tube and train stations, bus shelters, tracksides, and station car parks, in the years 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020? If possible, could you also break down this data by type of weapon?

The Mayor: There is no distinct field in the data for recording offensive weapons found on the Transport for London (TfL) network, so this data is not retrievable. To provide an accurate report, all staff incident reports would need to be individually checked. This would be incredibly time consuming and TfL does not have the resources at present to do so.

Vision Zero and Identifying Bus Safety Deaths

Keith Prince: During your time as Mayor, TfL’s published data shows 50 people have been killed in Bus Safety Incidents (39 collisions, 11 falls). In the spirit of your much-touted Vision Zero programme, will you publish the names and stories of these bus safety victims with reference to the specific actions TfL has taken to ensure that lessons were learned from these preventable deaths?

The Mayor: Every death on London’s roads is a tragedy, and I am clear in my Vision Zero ambition to eliminate deaths and serious injuries from London’s streets. TfL already publishes specific information on fatal collisions on its website, but would not routinely publish the names of the victims of road collisions without the specific permission of people’s relatives and families.
Whenever a fatal collision takes place, involving any mode, TfL considers any recommendations arising from the Metropolitan Police investigation and any Prevention of Future Death notice made by the Coroner if they identify specific actions necessary to prevent a reoccurrence. In cases where collisions involve a London bus service, TfL also takes account of actions identified from the operator’s investigation.
Strategically, TfL reviews patterns of road collision injuries using the Stats19 data collected by the police and also commissions bespoke analysis to support action in particular focus areas. All these approaches were combined to inform the development of TfL’s Bus Safety Programme. The safety record of buses has been improving, with deaths and serious injuries to bus occupants having, by 2020, reduced by 77 per cent against the 2005-09 baseline – the greatest reduction amongst any road user type. Buses are the safest way to travel on London’s streets and also have the lowest rate of involvement of any mode in collisions in which other road users are killed or seriously injured, when normalised by passenger journeys.

Acute Mental Health Issues

Emma Best: In response to Q 2021/3250 you outlined that the Thrive LDN initiative would not look to offer support to those suffering from acute mental health afflictions such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and personality disorders. What support are you offering for Londoners with acute mental health issues?

The Mayor: As outlined in my Health Inequalities Strategy, while I am not responsible for healthcare services I work closely with health and care sector partners so that all Londoners can share in a city with the best mental health in the world.
Londoners with acute mental health conditions are supported by community and inpatient mental health services. The London programme supports community mental health service transformation, with new dedicated programmes set up last year for Personality Disorders and other conditions. People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder can access care from Improving Access to Psychological Therapies providers.
I continue to support Thrive LDN’s prevention-focused approach towards improving mental health. This means addressing the causes of poor mental health and building mental resilience. This focuses on preventative action and effective signposting; ranging from crisis lines to digital resources. Londoners can access free resources and NHS approved apps to support their mental wellbeing through Good Thinking; London’s digital wellbeing service. I recently invested in an expansion of the service for young Londoners.

Bus operations

Leonie Cooper: Who was responsible in TfL for Bus Operations from January to August 2021?

The Mayor: Geoff Hobbs, Transport for London’s (TfL) director of Public Transport Service Planning, oversaw Bus Operations from 6 March 2021, when Claire Mann left TfL, until 2 August 2021, when Louise Cheesemanjoinedas the new Director of Bus Operations. All reported directly to Gareth Powell, Managing Director of Surface Transport.

Drop Out Rate From The Knowledge

Keith Prince: What is the drop out rate for candidates who, having been accepted, fail to complete the Knowledge of London?

The Mayor: The rate for candidates who begin but do not complete the Knowledge of London process is around 70 per cent. This figure has been consistent for many years. The majority of applicants who do not continue do so at an early stage of the process.
Transport for London engages with candidates on a number of occasions at the early stages of the Knowledge of London process to provide support and reassurance, and meets with candidates after six months to check how their studies are going and whether they are studying effectively.

Assistance to Taxi Drivers

Keith Prince: Does the Mayor have a plan to provide assistance to taxi drivers who are unable to source vehicles due to the decrease in the taxi fleet?

The Mayor: As set out in my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/4259, I have provided £42 million to support London’s taxi trade in its uptake of cleaner vehicles. I am very proud that a third of the capital’s taxi fleet, more than 4,600 vehicles, are now zero emission capable.
I am aware that the pandemic has proven extremely challenging for members of the taxi trade. Alongside the financial support schemes offered by the Government, I have lobbied the Treasury for specific support for London’s taxi and private hire industries.

TfL Staff Abuse

Krupesh Hirani: How many incidents of abuse to Transport for London staff have been reported in each of the last twenty-four months?

The Mayor: The attached table highlights the number of incidents of abuse reported by TfL staff, bus drivers and the employees of our contracted rail operators (TfL Rail, London Overground, Trams and DLR). Please note that TfL only holds accurate data going back to April 2020.
The totals include any instances reported of physical abuse, threats, and verbal and gesture abuse. DLR and Trams staff data is only that which has been reported to the British Transport Police (BTP).

The Mayor: 4681 data.xlsx

Letter to Attorney General in support of Sandilands Families request for a New Inquest

Neil Garratt: Further to your response to Question 2021/3905, will you, like Michael Liebreich — the former TfL Board Member and Safety Panel Chair before, during and after the Sandilands Disaster—write a letter to the Attorney General in support of the 5 Sandilands Families’ request to appoint a new inquest?

The Mayor: I refer you to my answer to your previous question.The request which has been made on behalf of five of the bereaved families is a legal matter and as previously stated I await the Attorney General’s decision.

Planning and housing policies

Emma Best: Have GLA Health Directors and Officers been involved yet in a review of planning and housing plans and policies as pledged?

The Mayor: As outlined in MQ1944, this work has already begun, and builds on my ‘health in all policies’ approach. Ongoing work to maximise opportunities to address health inequalities in housing and planning continues, with the GLA health team supporting the London Plan guidance programme on air quality, urban greening and sustainable transport, walking and cycling. Officers are also supporting work to reduce rough sleeping, improve the quality and security of tenure in the private rented sector, and related work on the continuing COVID19 response
A new implementation plan for my Health Inequalities Strategy will be published in December. It will highlight the range of activities across the GLA being undertaken which, collectively, will reduce health inequalities.

2022 Boxing Day train services

Caroline Pidgeon: What is the expected Boxing Day service that will operate on the Elizabeth Line?

The Mayor: Once the final timetable is in place, Transport for London expects to operate the following through services on Boxing Day 2022, subject to there being no planned engineering works:
All services will operate into the Central Operating Section (Westbourne Park Junction to Abbey Wood /Pudding Mill Lane) providing a direct through service into Central London, assuming no engineering works are planned.

Drug Consumption Rooms

Emma Best: Why will you not look to investigate drug consumption rooms in London?

The Mayor: There is currently no legal framework for the provision of Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) in the UK and the Government stated earlier this year that it has no plans to introduce DCRs.
As such, a range of offences would be committed in running drug consumption rooms, by both service users and staff, including possession of a controlled drug and being concerned in the supply of a controlled drug.
I am aware that Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees recently proposed to pilot drug consumption room in Bristol; these plans were then rejected by the Home Office.

National Review of the ‘Stay Put’ Principle

Anne Clarke: What effect, if any, is the Government’s failure to publish research or provide new guidelines to implement recommendation 28 of the Grenfell Inquiry having on the ability of the LFB to keep Londoners safe?

The Mayor: The Government hasn’t yet concluded its research into developing protocols for partial and total evacuation of residential high-rise buildings.London Fire Brigade (LFB) has addressed recommendation 29 ‘That Fire and Rescue Services develop policies for partial and total evacuation of high rise residential buildings and training to support them’ through the development and publication of PN970 ’Evacuation and Rescue from Fires in Premises’. This mitigates the risk to Londoners until such time as national protocols are disseminated, at which point the LFB will review its local policy to ensure alignment.
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) considers the LFB’s policy as good practice and its operational board will review this in January 2022 with a view to seeing if the policy can be adopted in support of National Operational Guidance.
LFB has assisted the Home Office, the NFCC and the University of Central Lancaster to facilitate the national testing of evacuations from residential high-rise buildings which should start in January 2022.